Choosing a server (A Guide)

[Frieja]

FYI, according to Lux Aeterna's graph of last week's logins, all servers are experiencing a very high population right now. And all servers have roughly the same amount of logins. Brandywine is no longer the leader, lol! However, I have not updated the OP server populations because I'm waiting for a bit of stabilization. Server populations are probably going to be wonky for the next few weeks at least.



Gah! How do you insert pictures anymore? IMG's not working, and there's no Insert Picture icon anymore.

[Lebenedh]

A possible consideration for server selection could be house availability. As of 9/21, Elendilmir has good availability of all house types (including 20+ Deluxe Houses) in each of the 4 housing areas. All areas have 200+ Standard (1 gold) houses, 20+ Deluxe (7 gold) houses and 100+ Kin Houses (17 gold) available. This does change with time, so if house selection is a concern (and it should be no more than a minor one), ask just before you make a final selection.

[morrowbreeze]

This particular app is pretty much worthless for info gathering I have learned. Notice point 1 and point 3.


LOTRO Server Checker
server status
Arkenstone last queue: 136318
Brandywine last queue: 151904
Crickhollow last queue: 195944
Dwarrowdelf last queue: 217310
Elendilmir last queue: 134113
Firefoot last queue: 145226
Gladden last queue: 163749
Imladris last queue: 223058
Landroval last queue: 107439
Meneldor last queue: 174544
Nimrodel last queue: 186717
Riddermark last queue: 166889
Silverlode last queue: 130704
Vilya last queue: 143959
Windfola last queue: 174876
Bullroarer last queue: 1079
total assigned queue numbers: 2453829

Here, let me quote the creator of the aplication:

1 * Note: This number is not the number of players logged on.
2* When you logon, the server assigns you a queue number which indicates your position in the login queue. This queue plays a part when the server is full and you have to wait for some players to logout. So basically all this number shows is the last position in the queue that the server has assigned.
3 * I'm not too sure how often the server clears the login queue number so it is kind of a pointless number for us to look at.
4 * The one interesting thing about the queue number is that we can also get the last served queue number - i.e. the last player that was logged in. With this I can check whether the server is full or not and add another status for the server"

this exact quote is from the MMORPG forums. I have no way to verify it.



These are NOT logged in number of players. These are NOT accumulated numbers of logged in players. It is MAYBE the accumulated number of players who logged, left, relogged etc over time. This app has no use in general for gauging anything. It is a queue number assigned to the next login in line for each server. It supposedly tells someone smarter than i when the server is "full" according to a certain queue number.

[Sapience]

I thought I'd pop in here and just make a quick comment. Most of the 'server size' estimations in the OP are no longer valid. In fact, some servers that were considered to be among the highest populations are no longer in the top ten. Some considered low population are now routinely in the top five.

We'll continue to balance populations as more and more new players enter the game.

[morrowbreeze]

Thank you. I see Dwarrowdelf and Imladris as the new pop leaders according to above app. Early this morning Landroval was far and away the least populated server according to if one wants to "read" the chart. But the last time the checker came up with a clean set of numbers Crickhollow and Landroval were way up there. Its too inconsistant for meaningful study.

Another thing about the LOTRO server checker, what does the last point from the creator of the app quote mean? And why is that info relevant to the public?

And Sapience, would you be willing to help us clear the air over actual server sizes? >

[Frieja]

Thanks, Sapience.

I've updated the OP. Boy were there a TON of server size changes! Brandywine is no longer top dog! And Landroval has the lowest amount of logins of all servers last week!

I'm sure population will fluctuate widely over the next few weeks. I'll update the OP each week.

[Cithryth]

I'd just like to add to the Windfola fun facts, if I may (and also so Windy doesn't feel left out in the bloggers-call-this-home trend with all the other servers).

I (Cithryth) of LOTRO Weekly play on Windfola.

[MargyThunderstorm]

1 * Note: This number is not the number of players logged on.

This number is the Number of Queues since GLS-reboot.

2* When you logon, the server assigns you a queue number which indicates your position in the login queue. This queue plays a part when the server is full and you have to wait for some players to logout. So basically all this number shows is the last position in the queue that the server has assigned.

When you logon, the server assisgns you a queue number. This number increases by +1 to the player who has loged on before you on the same server. This number will not decrease by -1 when a player logout.

3 * I'm not too sure how often the server clears the login queue number so it is kind of a pointless number for us to look at.

The server clears the Numbers (set it to 1) after maintenance (restart?).

4 * The one interesting thing about the queue number is that we can also get the last served queue number - i.e. the last player that was logged in. With this I can check whether the server is full or not and add another status for the server"

Read the "<server_full>-Tag".

I thought I'd pop in here and just make a quick comment. Most of the 'server size' estimations in the OP are no longer valid. In fact, some servers that were considered to be among the highest populations are no longer in the top ten. Some considered low population are now routinely in the top five.

We'll continue to balance populations as more and more new players enter the game.

We can see, that you rotate the order of the servers in the serverlist every few hours. (old players only see this if they delete/rename the LauncherUserSettings.xml-File). We think a lot of new players choose the first server in the list, so its possibly to adjust the population. Sorry i cant explain this much better in english.
You can take look in this graph:
http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/3060/lotrologins.png

[morrowbreeze]

This number is the Number of Queues since GLS-reboot.

When you logon, the server assisgns you a queue number. This number increases by +1 to the player who has loged on before you on the same server. This number will not decrease by -1 when a player logout.

The server clears the Numbers (set it to 1) after maintenance (restart?).

Read the "<server_full>-Tag".



We can see, that you rotate the order of the servers in the serverlist every few hours. (old players only see this if they delete/rename the LauncherUserSettings.xml-File). We think a lot of new players choose the first server in the list, so its possibly to adjust the population. Sorry i cant explain this much better in english.
You can take look in this graph:
http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/3060/lotrologins.png

thank you for the reply. I believe what you clarified is what I guessed at also. Point 4 is still hard to fathim for any usefullness to me.

[PVL64]

Noted: The head start program with the new servers was actually ready and opened a day before the estimated official date of the 8th and saw people enter these new worlds around noonish on the 7th.

[Darej]

well..i wouldnt be trusting those figure you all are getting from that queue checker.

according to it brandywhine isnt top dog anymore...yet yesterday/last night it was showing as server full.

so something is amiss somewheres.

[Frieja]

well..i wouldnt be trusting those figure you all are getting from that queue checker.

according to it brandywhine isnt top dog anymore...yet yesterday/last night it was showing as server full.

so something is amiss somewheres.

Well, according to Sapience, the old figures are no longer correct. So this is what we have to go by.

The Lux Aeterna charts followed the old populations quite well, so I have no reason to think they're not following the new populations.

[Darej]

Well, according to Sapience, the old figures are no longer correct. So this is what we have to go by.

The Lux Aeterna charts followed the old populations quite well, so I have no reason to think they're not following the new populations.

and according to a thread called Brandywine full....something isnt working right.

so if brandywhine is not letting folks join the queue becuase it is reporting full...and sapience says it isnt really...how can you trust the numbers you see?

[MargyThunderstorm]

and according to a thread called Brandywine full....something isnt working right.

so if brandywhine is not letting folks join the queue becuase it is reporting full...and sapience says it isnt really...how can you trust the numbers you see?

Our charts fully agree with Sapience .

[Frieja]

and according to a thread called Brandywine full....something isnt working right.

so if brandywhine is not letting folks join the queue becuase it is reporting full...and sapience says it isnt really...how can you trust the numbers you see?

My guess is there's probably a bug with Brandywine's queue.

[Element_0]

This post is simply a thread bump in order to keep the topic easily accessible to new players.

[Frieja]

I have updated server populations for this week. In the lead are:
1. Gladden
2. Dwarrowdelf
3. Imladris

Please note that prior to F2P Brandywine, Elendilmir, and Landroval had the highest populations. They still retain the highest populations of level-capped players.

Also note that the new servers: Dwarrowdelf, Imladris, Riddermark, and Crickhollow have only been around for a few weeks, and their communities are still developing.

[HRHoftheWraithRiders]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I have updated the OP with the information you both provided.

Really great guide I was so new way back when ~ sigh ~ and now am looking for a new home. A server is your home. To new players: choose carefully and poke around a bit. I feel quite stuck now and very unhappy. The cost to transfer all of my characters, the loss of a Kin Hall and House? Choose wisely.

Landroval and Windfola sound interesting as does Imladris.

[ShotgunStalker]

Haha. Im so going Windfola since they have ....dun dun dun... GOATS!

[Widmore]

Nice guide!
I'll have to bookmark this so I can reference it while adjusting to my new life in Middle Earth.

[Arenthil31]

Go Imladris!

[Shags2dope12121]

Wow im surprised Nimrodel has grown so much.

[borstan]

Just wanted to comment on populations based off the link in the first post. After playing on most of these servers I don't believe they are correct.

Firefoot population is low/lowest before extra servers added, to medium at best not high.
Elendelmir, Landroval, Brandywine are the big 3 and only 3 very high population servers.
As a gauge you can login to each server and check the auction house. Simply look at the sheer number of items on these servers and you'll be amazed compared to lower population servers like Firefoot.
The population on these 3 was so large that they completely stopped allowing people to transfer their characters from existing servers to them.

Any of the new servers would have low to medium populations at best.

[Frieja]

Just wanted to comment on populations based off the link in the first post. After playing on most of these servers I don't believe they are correct.

Firefoot population is low/lowest before extra servers added, to medium at best not high.
Elendelmir, Landroval, Brandywine are the big 3 and only 3 very high population servers.
As a gauge you can login to each server and check the auction house. Simply look at the sheer number of items on these servers and you'll be amazed compared to lower population servers like Firefoot.
The population on these 3 was so large that they completely stopped allowing people to transfer their characters from existing servers to them.

Any of the new servers would have low to medium populations at best.

I did add a note on the description for Brandywine, Elendilmir, and Landroval that they had the largest populations prior to F2P, and still retain the highest population of high-level characters.

I personally play back and forth between Brandywine and Crickhollow, and from my own experience, Brandywine seems to have MANY more players than Crickhollow -- even though they have similar login numbers.

I haven't had time to update server populations this week, but I may decide to go with Skirmish Leaderboards this time instead of Lux Aeterna's login tracker. Just because people are logging in doesn't mean they're actually playing.

[Frieja]

As an FYI, I revisited the Skirmish leaderboards. These boards record every character that has ever participated in a skirmish. It gives a good estimate of the cumulative population (over level 20) of each server. However, it does not take into consideration people who have left the game.

However, I have found these numbers to be a bit more in line with the populations that I actually see on the servers.

Server         Percentage     # of pages

Brandywine           15%            1175
Elendilmir           11%             825
Landroval            10%             764
Gladden              8%              571
Silverlode           7%              545
Meneldor             7%              538
Arkenstone           7%              533
Nimrodel             7%              530
Firefoot             7%              514
Vilya                7%              514
Windfola             6%              485
Riddermark           2%              159
Crickhollow          2%              144
Imladris             2%              142
Dwarrowdelf          2%              133